Celebrities, volunteers and regular people will sit non-stop on a chair, in the center of Bucharest (Romania), until 100,000 texts are collected to finalize the construction of a shelter for the families of children suffering from serious illnesses, who require treatment far from home
Every year, 550 children are diagnosed with cancer, in Romania. Many of them have limited means and are far from the specialized medical centres;
The parents do not give up and they only have one option to stay by the side of their children during the treatment period: a chair in a hospital ward;
The first MagicHOME centre, which is located in Bucharest, near the main hospitals, and has already hosted 300 children and family members in 2017, is now crammed to overflowing;
In this context, MagicMakers, the founders of MagiCAMP, launch a fundraising campaign to finalize and open a new centre, which can shelter 30 times more children and parents in this situation;
Celebrities and regular people will sit non-stop on a chair at the Galateca Gallery in the center of Bucharest, in order to show their empathy and solidarity for these parents and to encourage people to donate.
2,500 children in Romania are currently treated for oncological illnesses. 550 cancer cases are diagnosed every year. Children suffering from cancer require medical care at paediatric oncology clinics, which are usually located far from their homes.
However, over 70% of the children come from families with limited financial means, while the costs of transportation and accommodation are the main cause for children being diagnosed late, treatments or examinations being postponed or interrupted, which dramatically reduces the chances of healing.
“The parents who can’t afford accommodation outside the hospital, but choose to be next to their children for the entire duration of the treatment are faced with a true endurance test: they sleep on a chair, in a hospital ward, beside the child’s bed, they do not have any conditions for personal hygiene, as they can only use the common bathroom where there is no shower space in most cases, they have no conditions to wash their clothes or prepare a meal. And they do not even think about personal comfort during those moments; all they can think about is proper access to treatment for the child. We believe that our role is to think about the comfort, both physically and emotionally, and to ease their ever so difficult task of taking care of their sick child. Moreover, since the doctors are often familiar with the poor financial situation of the families, the children are admitted to the hospital, although it is not always necessary, which exponentially increases the risk of the children contracting nosocomial infections”, stated Vlad Voiculescu and Melania Medeleanu, founders of MagiCAMP and MagicHOME
Free Accommodation for 30 People a Day
Currently, the MagicHOME centre located in Bucharest, near the treatment units (the Bucharest Institute of Oncology and the Fundeni Clinical Institute), provides free accommodation, support and other facilities for the families of children diagnosed with cancer or other severe illnesses. 300 children and their families have received free accommodation, during the first half of the year, but the real needs are far from being met by the centre. In addition, the 4-room apartment in Cluj-Napoca, inaugurated in March 2017 is almost always occupied, and so is the small 2-room apartment in Vienna, located 15 minutes from the Saint Ana Children’s Hospital and AKH Vienna.
Given that the current MagicHOME centres fail to cover the real need for accommodation and support for the children suffering from severe illnesses and their families, today MagicMakers launches a fundraising campaign to finalize the construction of a new MagicHOME centre: Împreună #PentruMagicHOME (Together #forMagicHOME). The new Bucharest centre will cover a surface of 700 square metres and will be able to host 25 to 30 people a day, providing almost 10,000 meals a year.
100,000 SMSs are required in order to raise the funds necessary for the centre to be finished. People interested in donating can do it by texting the number 8844 (available in the Digi, Orange and Vodafone networks), with the word “MAGIC”. Each SMS is equivalent to a donation of EUR 2/month for the Shelter for Parents of children suffering from severe illnesses.
Celebrities Sit on the Chair of Suffering
Celebrities, volunteers and regular people will sit non-stop on a chair at the Galateca Gallery, on 2-3 C.A. Rosetti Street, to raise awareness on the issue, to show their solidarity and empathy for the parents, and to encourage people to donate. They will not leave their spot until the 100,000 SMSs, i.e. the funds needed to finalize the project, are collected. A few celebrities who sat on the chair at the Galateca Gallery are actress Oana Pellea, singer Antonia and actor Marius Manole.
The space at the Galateca Gallery where the chair, symbol of the campaign, is located was set up to recreate the hospital environment, next to the bed of a child undergoing treatment, where parents end up “living” on a chair. The props include a hospital bed with drips and walls displaying their thoughts and the fact that it is not a matter of comfort, but a matter of proper access to treatment for the children. A counter will record in real time the number of SMSs received, and whoever wants to participate in the sit-down can schedule their participation on www.pentrumagichome.ro , in order to have a sit on the resistance chair at the gallery.
More info: Facebook
